Jinn

Release Date:  2017
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  NR
Director:  Nijla Mumin
Studio(s):   Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, Morgan’s Mark,
Sweet Potato Pie Productions
Running Time:  91 mins.

Cast:  Simone Missick (Jade), Zoe Renee (Summer), Hisham Tawfiq (Imam Khalid), Kelvin Harrison, Jr. (Tahir), Dorian Missick (David).

Story:   Summer is a 17-year old carefree black girl, whose world is turned upside down when her mother, a popular meteorologist named Jade, abruptly converts to Islam and becomes a different person, prompting Summer to reevaluate her identity.  But, while Summer initially resists Islam, she eventually becomes drawn to its teachings, particularly around the “Jinn,” supernatural beings who occupy a parallel world and have free will, like humans. Summer soon realizes that the religion is more complex than she thought, and that people interpret it in different ways. Yet, Summer’s need to be free and untethered to any one way of being clashes with her mother’s strict interpretation of the faith and causes a growing rift between them.

When Summer meets Tahir, a fellow Muslim classmate who attends the same masjid, she is further drawn to the religion and especially to his parents’ fluid, freeing practice of it. As Summer and Tahir build a connection based on laughter, curiosity, and beef pepperoni, a budding sexual attraction ignites, causing a major conflict between physical desire and piety.  Source(s):  Official site – jinnfilm.com; sxsw.com.

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Blindspotting

Release Date:  7/20/18 – Limited/In Theaters
Genre:  Comedy
Rating:  NR
Director:  Carlos López Estrada
Studio(s):   Foley Walkers Studio, Snoot Entertainment
Running Time:  95 mins.

Cast:  Daveed Diggs (Collin), Rafael Casal (Miles), Janina Gavankar (Val), Jasmine Cephas Jones (Ashley), Tisha Campbell-Martin (Mama Liz), Utkarsh Ambudkar (Rin), Kevin Carroll (James), Nyambi Nyambi (Yorkie).

Story:   Daveed Diggs plays Collin, who is trying to make it through his final days of probation for an infamous arrest he can’t wait to put behind him. Always by his side is his fast-talking childhood bestie, Miles (Rafael Casal), who has a knack for finding trouble. They grew up together in the notoriously rough Oakland, a.k.a. “The Town,” which has become the new trendy place to live in the rapidly gentrifying Bay Area.  When Collin’s chance for a fresh start is interrupted by a life-changing missed curfew, his friendship with Miles is forced out of its comfortable buddy-comedy existence, and the Bay boys are set on a spiraling collision course with each other.  Photo Source/Source(s):  Deadline.

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Den of Thieves

Release Date:  4/24/18; DVD
Genre:  Action/Crime
Rating:  R
Director:  Christian Gudegast
Studio(s):   Diamond Film Productions, G-BASE, Tucker Tooley Entertainment.
Running Time:  140 mins.

Cast:  Gerard Butler (‘Big Nick’ O’Brien), Pablo Schreiber (Ray Merrimen), O’Shea Jackson, Jr., (Donnie Wilson), Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson (Enson Levoux), Meadow Williams (Holly), Maurice Compte (Benny Borracho’ Magalon) Brian Van Holt  (Murph Connors), Evan Jones (Bo ‘Bosco’ Ostroman), Mo McRae (Gus Henderson).

Story:   A Los Angeles crime saga in the vein of Heat, Den of Thieves follows the intersecting and often personally connected lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff’s Dept. and the state’s most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank of downtown Los Angeles.  Source(s):  Movie Insider.

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Honor Up

Release Date:  4/17/18; DVD
Genre: Action
Rating: R
Director: Damon Dash
Studio(s): Grindstone Entertainment Group, Lions Gate Films, Lionsgate Home Entertainment.
Running Time:  94 mins.
Cast:  Damon Dash, Cam’ron, Stacey Dash, Nicholas Turturro, Michael Rispoli, Murda Mook, Smoke DZA, Blackface.
Story:  State Property producer Damon Dash and executive producer Kanye West present this epic, explosive crime saga that stars rappers Cam’ron, Murda Mook, Blackface, and Smoke DZA. Dash stars as OG, a drug lord’s lieutenant struggling to maintain the code of honor–protect the family–within his unruly crew after a Harlem shootout. Also featuring Nicholas Turturro and Stacey Dash, this film reveals a deadly underworld where beats pound as bullets fly and even outlaws must live by the code. Source: Rotten Tomatoes.

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Honey:  Rise Up and Dance

a/k/a Honey 4

Release Date:  4/3/18; DVD, Digital and On Demand
Genre:  Music
Rating:  PG-13
Director:  Bille Woodruff
Studio(s):   Universal 1440 Entertainment, Soundtrack New York, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE)
Running time:  Unknown

Cast:  Teyana Taylor (Skyler), Bryshere Y. Gray (Tyrell), Sierra Aylina McClain (Tosha), Charmin Lee (Jada).

Story:   An avid street dancer goes against the odds and pursues her dreams in Honey: Rise Up and Dance, the exciting all-new installment in the Honey film franchise.  An inspirational story about overcoming adversity, Honey: Rise Up and Dance is set to the beat of Atlanta’s underground dance scene and injects the series with a raw and edgy vibe, fueled with sexy hip-hop battles and dynamic routines like you’ve never seen before!

Aspiring street dancer, Skyler is at a major crossroads in her life.  She’s decided to try-out for the same dance crew as her formally trained sister Tosha in order to compete for a college scholarship, but is discouraged by her family and boyfriend who doubt that her raw, edgy talent is enough for her to win.  Determined to prove them all wrong, Skyler practices non-stop in Atlanta’s underground dance scene and catches the eye of Tyrell.  He helps her take her sexy dance and hip-hop battle skills to the next level in order to achieve her dreams.  Source:  PR Newswire.

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Uncle Drew

Release Date:   6/29/18
Genre:  Comedy
Rating:  NR
Director:  Charles Stone III
Studio(s):   Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment
Running time:  Unknown

Cast:  Tiffany Haddish (Jess), Kyrie Irving (Uncle Drew), Nick Kroll (Mookie), Shaquille O’Neal (Big Fella), LilRel Howery (Dax), Nate Robinson (Boots), Erica Ash (Maya), Lisa Leslie (Betty Lou), Chris Webber (Preacher), Reggie Miller (Lights).

Story:   Uncle Drew, played by basketball player Kyrie Irving, originally appeared in a Pepsi Max advertisement which saw Irving, disguised as an old man, showing up on random basketball courts, shocking the players with his skills.  After draining his life savings to enter a team in the Rucker Classic street ball tournament in Harlem, Dax (Lil Rel Howery) is dealt a series of unfortunate setbacks, including losing his team to his longtime rival (Nick Kroll). Desperate to win the tournament and the cash prize, Dax stumbles upon the man, the myth, the legend UNCLE DREW (NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving) and convinces him to return to the court one more time. The two men embark on a road trip to round up Drew’s old basketball squad (Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, and Lisa Leslie) and prove that a group of septuagenarians can still win the big one.  Source:  Flickering Myth.

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